Face of Hawaii
by prettydynamic
Summary: Rookie Officer Kono Kalakaua was assigned to pose undercover in a beauty pageant to catch a serial killer targeting beauty queens. Can she catch him or will she be another victim?
1. Chapter 1

It must have been the eyes that revealed the fact to her, or the cold, calculating tone of the voice that suddenly sent a shiver down her spine as realization hit her. This is the perpetrator. How could she not have seen it before? She thought a year's experience in Five-0 had made her an apt and smart police officer, that she could skillfully, single-handedly close a case, unfortunately, competent as she was, murder was not their forte. She had never met a cold blooded murderer before. Not until now. She must tell Steve and the others they have the wrong perpetrator!

She didn't bother to tighten the wrap over her swimsuit nor to reach out for her foot wear as she swiftly left the photo shoot at the rooftop to make a call to Five-0 Headquarters.

"Where are you going? You're not allowed to go back to your rooms yet" said Angie.

"Please, it's an emergency," pleaded Kono and before Angie could say another word, she ran past her.

There were 2 men in dark suits that entered as she exited the elevator on the 10th floor. They were momentarily taken aback by the half-dressed stunning beauty that almost collided with them.

Her bedroom was dark as she dashed in immediately searching for her cellphone but she couldn't find it on the bed where she believed she left it before the photo shoot. She can neither make out where it was despite the small room. She groped for the bedside lamp but it didn't switch on. House-keeping must have accidentally loosened the plug while cleaning. She lifted the hotel room phone but the line was dead.

Cold perspiration overcame Kono. How can a hotel phone line be dead? Then she heard the soft rustling of bare feet in the carpet. She knew she wasn't alone anymore. Out of her peripheral vision, she saw the knife poised up to stab her back. She shrieked as she slammed the phone down in haste and luckily dodged the knife.

She skillfully hit her assailant's face with a flying kick before backing out to the balcony. She couldn't see her assailant's face in the darkened room but she could feel the uncontrollable rage.

"Damn you Kono! You'll pay for this! You'll pay for this!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Two Weeks Ago**

It was almost five o'clock and she was excited to heat the waves in a few minutes. She hastily typed the last few paragraphs in her case report when Steve walked out of his office to get a fresh cup of coffee from the espresso machine followed by Chin and Danny who seemed to be explaining something that Steve apparently didn't agree on. Kono could see the lines on his forehead and the annoyance in his eyes as he gestured his point to them.

"Why is that our case? Homicide is HPD's job. They need assistance, why not the BAU? They are in a better position to assist in a homicide investigation," said Steve.

"You don't understand. They don't have the right agent for this undercover operation that's why the Captain is requesting if you would be so kind to let…"

"She is not properly trained for this. I don't want my agent's life put in jeopardy," said Steve firmly.

"Come on. How different is it to catch a murderer from catching crooks that set bombs or sell drugs? Let this be a part of her training," piped in Danny.

"Why her? There are women in HPD and in FBI," protested Steve.

Danny looked at him incredulously. "It's a beauty contest. Face of Hawaii. Not just anyone can enter that. It has to be believable. Can you send someone forty to do that undercover operation? Or someone let's say not physically endowed for it?"

Damn it. He knew they were right. There was only one agent with the face and the body to be in that beauty contest. He wasn't thrilled to lend her to a murder investigation but he knew that he had to. Someday they too might need a helping hand in an investigation and he wouldn't want the other departments to close their doors.

Steve knew when he was defeated. "Alright fine. Kono goes undercover but tell the Captain, only if our squad is in on the investigation as well. I am not letting my agent place her life in jeopardy without us backing her up."

Kono was about to leave the building with her tote bag in hand, ready to face the waves with her pink surfboard when she heard Steve calling her name. Although she knew he wasn't thrilled to give her the assignment, he didn't give her a chance to decline either.

He proceeded to explain the specs of the case and her coming duties for the next couple of weeks.

"A week ago Sandra Pullin, last year's Ms. Waikiki was found stabbed to death in her bathtub. Her face completely lacerated. It appeared to be a personal crime to the HPD because of the laceration but then yesterday another beauty queen was found, a Ms. Honolulu University who also incidentally is a cosmetics model for an international brand of make up. This time she was killed through a blunt force trauma on the head while in the SPA."

"Do you think both cases are related?" asked Kono.

"Yes, HPD thinks so. They were killed by a different M.O. but both bear lacerations on their faces and through an investigation, it was discovered that both women signed up for the country's most prestigious pageant Face of Hawaii. So we want to investigate on the premise that it is a work of a serial killer," explained Steve.

"Your name has been given to the registration and the pre-pageant will start the day after tomorrow. The candidates are billeted at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. I will secure a room in that hotel so that in case you may need immediate back up or may need to discuss the case we can meet there. Either Chin, Danny or myself will be there in the morning or will be there at night."

"The murderer may or may not be a part of the pageant committee but we must find out if anyone of them has any connection to the two contestants."

"I'll do what I can, boss," reassured Kono.

"We'll see you at the hotel. Pretend you do not know any one of us, alright."

"Once we catch the murderer, I can drop out of the pageant right?" asked Kono.

"Why, don't you want to take a shot of being Face of Hawaii?" joked Danny.

"Very funny Danny. It never crossed my mind to be a beauty queen. I don't think I even stand a chance." said Kono.

"Wanna bet?" said Danny with a grin.

"Nah. She's just fishing for complement," laughed Chin.

"Stop it you guys. You're making fun of me," laughed Kono.

"Stop it! This is no laughing matter. I'm worried for Kono," said Steve.

"Loosen up, Steve. Everything will be fine. We'll catch the murderer with a baited hook."


	3. Chapter 3

Kono bit her lip to stop herself from cursing the swarthy looking man she chased two blocks along Ala Wai Boulevard before finally finding the chance to jump and cuffed him with the help of a taxi cab who suddenly parked and blocked his exit. She would have captured him sooner had she not been wearing the high-heeled black Kate Spade sandals.

She cuffed the man rather roughly in irritation for causing a little rip at the frayed front layers of her black sleeveless Oscar Dela Renta layer-front sheer blouse when they tumbled on the ground.

Kono had been on her way to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel to check in and start the preliminary pageant but a vagabond who snatched an old lady's purse caused her delay when she ran out to capture him.

Trying to catch her breath, Kono reached for her phone, "Chin, are you somewhere near the Ala Wai Canal? I need to book someone for theft but I'm running late for the pageant's preliminaries… Yeah I know I should have been there 2 hours ago but I couldn't figure out what to wear and it took me another thirty minutes running after this thug."

Chin arrived ten minutes later to relieve Kono from her task of reporting the theft.

"Here's the old lady's purse," said Kono, handing the purse to Chin.

"Wow! Don't you look pretty, Cuz. Fancy get-up" teased Chin.

"Spare me the compliment. I've got to rush to the hotel and I have no time to change my ripped top. It will take me ages to find something I want to go with my pleated black and white printed silk skirt," whined Kono as she hopped back to her car.

Chin laughed in amusement as Kono sped off in a foul mood.

"You still look great!" he called out.

Kono was almost running as she treaded across the multi-purpose hall at the mezzanine of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel pulling her purple and black Benetton suitcase where the preliminary interview was being held. She was fifteen minutes late that she didn't even get the chance to check-in and leave her suitcase in her room first.

Red-faced in embarrassment she left her suitcase at the foot of the stage and uttered her apologies to the pageant committee before joining the candidates at the left side of the stage where they were being given instructions.

"Ms. Kono Kalakaua?" asked a bespectacled blond in a business suit.

Kono nodded and apologized profusely for her tardiness.

"I'm Angie, the coordinator for the pageant. Don't worry about it. It's not very late. Here is your number. Your number is based alphabetically…"

"Shouldn't the tardy candidates be disqualified? I think it's unfair for all of us who have made a conscious effort to be on time, don't you think so, Ms. Araneta?" bitched the curvaceous blue-eyed candidate, addressing the chairman of the pageant, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

Kono's heart sank. She can't afford to be disqualified. What's she going to tell Steve and the FBI? She held her breath and prayed silently. She didn't say anything to prevent herself from further embarrassment.

Mr. Simmons, one of the judges spoke in Kono's defense, "I believe she was here in the premises on the dot. Parking the car and going up the elevator sums up 15 minutes. Besides, the candidates are not judged based on how early they checked-in on the first day of the pageant."

"Ms. Kalakaua, I hope this is not a preview of your punctuality in the coming days of the pageant. You may join the ladies," said Ms. Araneta in a warning tone, her dark brows and hispanic aristocratic features wrinkling in displeasure.

Kono assured them it was not, and pinned her number 22 on her blouse before joining the ladies. The blue-eyed curvaceous blond stared at Kono in open dislike but Kono avoided her eyes to prevent any confrontation that might arise.

There were 30 candidates and each will be interviewed by the panel of 6 judges including the chairman of the pageant committee Stella Araneta in a private room situated on the far left of the multi-purpose hall.

When the panel interview was done, the girls were asked to return to their rooms to rest before the welcome dinner at 8pm.

Kono took her suitcase and went down to the reception area to check-in. Within a few minutes, she was knocking in Room 1025. She was crossing her fingers that she was rooming with anyone but the obnoxious curvaceous blond.

To her relief, the door was opened by a perky platinum blond who seemed to genuinely welcome her into the room. Kono stepped into a spacious deluxe room with an air-conditioner, television, and refrigerator. She asked her roommate which bed was hers and she told Kono it was the bed by the dresser.

She extended her hand and introduced herself as Karen Ridgeway. Kono felt an immediate liking to her roommate who even offered the spare cabinet for Kono's use which she politely declined. Karen left the room early in to meet some candidates at the lobby before dinner time.

Kono remembered how grimy she felt having to run two blocks along Ala Wai Blvd and tumbling with the crook on the dirty streets and took a long hot shower. She was wrapped in the hotel bathrobe when she started unpacking her suitcase.

To her horror, she discovered all her clothes were deliberately ruined and soaked with what looked like hair color that none of them was good enough for her to wear to dinner that night.


	4. Chapter 4

Early the next morning, Danny and Chin were up by the hotel poolside enjoying a glass of pinacolada after breakfast. They were enjoying their morning watching the lively atmosphere and chaotic surroundings as the candidates, the committee and photographers were preparing for a photo shoot.

"If all assignments were like this, I wouldn't mind doing some overtime," joked Danny.

Chin laughed. "If all our assignments were surrounded by beautiful women, I don't think we'd get a lot of things done."

"True," uttered Danny, as he sipped his Pinacolada.

Both were comfortably dressed in laid-back loafers, khakis and shirts in order to blend in into the crowd of vacationers.

"Look," managed Danny in between sips of Pinacolada, pointing a finger at the cemented bridge over the pool, "I believe I see someone who's absolutely your type—sun-bronzed tan, dark curly hair, silky legs…"

"Cut it out, Danny," laughed Chin, not looking where Danny was pointing.

"I'm serious," said Danny.

Chin followed Danny's gaze and furrowed his brows before sharing a look with Danny who shrugged his shoulders.

"Malia!" called Chin.

The woman in a halter multi-color printed chiffon dress suddenly turned to face in their direction. Chin waved for her to come join them.

"Are you joining the pageant without telling me," asked Chin.

Malia crossed her arms in mocked anger. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Chin. And just what are you doing here? Watching out for some babes in bikini?"

"Of course not, there's only one babe for me," said Chin as he pulled Malia into his arms and gave her a lingering kiss which he only ended after Danny cleared his throat.

"Uhm… what brings you here, Malia? Not keeping an eye on Chin I hope," joked Danny.

"I brought some of my Carolina Herrera and DKNY for Kono," she replied.

"Excuse me?" asked Danny.

"Clothes. I brought Kono some clothes for the pageant. Someone sabotaged her wardrobe yesterday. She didn't even have something to wear for dinner. She had no choice but to use the same outfit she wore for the interview," explained Malia.

Danny and Chin looked at each other.

"First day and your cousin already found an enemy," stated Danny.

"It was terrible. Anyway, I've got to go back to the hospital. I told Kono to ring me if there was anything else she needed. See you," said Malia before giving Chin a peck on the cheek.

Chin and Danny were kidding around and exchanging stories when Kono suddenly pulled out a chair beside Chin. She slumped her Burberry bikini clad body with a matching unbuttoned Burberry button-down cover-up, revealing her long legs and flat stomach.

She sighed, "I'm really not cut-out for this. This is just a special pictorial and already it's taking us hours just to prepare and shoot. The girls are nasty too. Whatever happened to friendly competition? It's a dog eat dog world out here. "

"Perhaps you should cut the frown and smile more so you don't get your designer clothes soaked in food color," said Danny.

"Very funny, Danny. And it's not food coloring, it's hair coloring. And these are not mine, they're Malia's. My designers are long gone. I better get back to the photo session. The pictures will be given to Cover Girl, which is a major sponsor in the pageant. They'll be giving one special award-Ms. Cover Girl who will win a modeling contract."

"Good luck, Cuz," smiled Chin.

Kono made a face and returned his smile.

"Oh by the way, what's your room number?" she asked.

Danny showed her the key 1125. "It's directly above yours. We can eye each other from the balcony," joked Danny.

"See us on your free time," said Chin.

The next night Kono waited until Karen was asleep before creeping out of bed and pulling on a pair of white sneakers and a shirtdress over her violet babydoll lingerie and making her way up to 1125. Kono was in a rush that she didn't bother to run a hairbrush in her long dark hair, nor did she bother with any make-up. She figured Chin would probably look worse as it was almost 2am, right in the middle of his sleep.

To her astonishment, the door was opened by Steve. She felt like kicking herself for not making any effort to look better. He looked like he'd been waiting for her all night, there wasn't a crease on his shirt, and both beds were still made up Kono noticed as she went inside to seat on the sofa facing the beds.

"I take the night shift. So what have you got for us," said Steve, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"I would offer you a cup but then you would need your sleep for tomorrow's event," smiled Steve.

It was one of the rare times Kono caught him smiling in a casual conversation. He was often times straight and serious.

She felt even more self conscious that she kept tugging the end of her hair.

"Some of the people of interest in the Pageant Committee are Judge No 1 George Simmons. His company is one of the major sponsors of the pageant. He has a weakness for tall, beautiful women and some contestants know it and they use their uhm charm to their advantage. Last year's first runner up became his mistress, of course that was hearsay…"

Steve was savoring his strong Columbian coffee as he listened to Kono's report. He was standing facing her as she sat quite relaxed on the sofa, her long legs stretched out front as she read her notes. Steve's attention kept being distracted by Kono's short shirtdress and with the way she was seated he could almost get a glimpse of her underwear, his brow was sweating as he found himself staring… and wondering what the color may be…

"Isn't that shirtdress a trifle bit too short for you," commented Steve.

Kono was half way explaining her report and stopped short. "Oh…uh… it's Malia's. I'm quite taller than her and so some of her clothes fall a bit short."

Steve stared at Kono's unassuming countenance. He wondered how it would be like to kiss her and run his hands up and down her long legs…

He wondered would she still look so innocent…or would she taste like some exotic spicy chocolate so hot and melting in the mouth….

He choked on his coffee at the thought.

"Boss! Are you okay? I…I… could just give this to Chin and Danny tom…" asked Kono in concern.

"No, no. Go on as you were saying… oh by the way, I heard about what happened to your wardrobe. Since this is official business, we are ordering some clothes you can use for the pageant and you can have them tomorrow night," said Steve.

_Probably something less stimulating…I don't think I can work like this._

"Thanks, boss. As I was saying, the chairman of the pageant committee Stella Araneta was a beauty queen herself, and so is another judge but so far I have not seen anything suspicious about them to have any grudge on the new generation of beauty queens."

"Regarding my fellow candidates…unfortunately, or fortunately, there would be a long list of interesting suspects if you will judge them from the hostility they have for a strong competitor," said Kono.

"I'm all ears. I have all night," said Steve.


	5. Chapter 5

Kono tried to roll over to her side to shield her eyes from the streaks of sunlight pouring in from the window but the huge blockage of warmth and musky scent that prevented her from rolling reminded her she was not alone. Yet the long night of passion they shared left her spent and longing for sleep that she almost indulged into another shut eye if not for the crack of dawn that penetrated harder into the room.

She sprang up in panic, remembering she was at the pageant and she was not even in the confines of the room she shared with Karen but in the Five-0 rented room, and any moment now Danny and her cousin Chin might walk inside the room.

Without considering her sleeping boss beside her, she tossed the blankets and the pillows in haste searching for her undergarments and shirtdress. Steve didn't move a limb but only uttered a muffled sound that indicated he was awake but too tired to get up. Kono looked under the bed but still no sign of the shirtdress. She silently cursed, grabbed the hotel's robe and slipped it on before wearing her flip flop sandals and climbing down the balcony to quietly slip into her bedroom one floor down.

She couldn't remember doing anything like this even back in highschool. She scolded herself for sneaking out like a juvenile delinquent. As she stood in the dark of her balcony, she noticed a shadow stealthily moving towards the door leading to the hallway until it quietly exited the room.

Kono went in and found her bed still the way she left it last night and Karen still sleeping soundly on her own bed nearer the door. She would have ran after and apprehended the intruder if not for her predicament of being caught in her undressed state and creeping out last night. She didn't want to risk being disqualified from the pageant due to misconduct.

Everything that transpired the night before began to dawn on Kono as she drowned herself in the scalding hot shower. She wanted to believe she wasn't affected, wanted to convince herself it was no big deal as they both wanted it to happen last night but her emotions wreck havoc and she wept bitterly as she slumped down on the floor, hoping the raging hot water could wash out the emotional turmoil. She secretly loved Steve but does he feet the same way? Not once did he say so last night… oh god she didn't want to head for heartbreak hill.

Kono's thoughts were interrupted by the loud banging on the bathroom and the frantic voice of Karen.

"Kono! Kono! Open up! There's been a murder! It's so horrible," cried Karen as she pursued the persistent knocking on the bathroom door.

Kono's heart stopped. Did she hear Karen right? A murder?!

Kono immediately rubbed her eyes with the towel to erase the traces of tears and wrapped herself with the large bath towel before rushing to open the door.

"I was on my way to breakfast and there she was lying on a pool of blood by the atrium near the garden with a flock of policemen and forensics surrounding her. Oh my god it's so horrible. Yesterday she won the Cover Girl contract and now she's dead!"

Kono turned white as she stared at Karen's hysterical countenance. Five-0 must move fast before someone dies again.


	6. Chapter 6

Heavy silence pervaded the car as Chin and Danny parked the black SUV at the hotel basement. It was still dusky when the emergency call reporting a murder at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel was dispatched to them. Chin had dialed Kono's cellphone several times incessantly and his unanswered call posed a gnawing fear and dread that he tried hard to push aside.

"No answer from Steve either. I swear that man sleeps like a log," said Danny.

"Shouldn't he be up to prevent something like this from happening?" retorted Chin in slight annoyance.

His concern for his cousin was making him temperamental and Danny understood. He wouldn't know what to do if there's a slightest bit of chance that his daughter Gracie would be in danger. Right now all he could do was to appease Chin.

"It's alright, Chin. I'm sure Kono's fine. We can reprimand her later for not picking up," said Danny.

As soon as the car was parked Chin rushed like a lightning inside the hotel towards the Mezzanine where the indoor garden, swimming pool, and sauna were located.

The call described the victim as a young female, with the huge probability of being one of the contestants of the pageant. Chin's heartbeat raced double as he saw the woman approximately 5'8 sprawled face down on the pebbled floor of the indoor garden by the atrium. Her face was facing away from the door leading to the garden and Chin could only see her long tanned limbs clad in a bikini and shorts, her hair long and raven black you could swear it was Kono.

He didn't know how long he stared, unable to approach the body, when Danny soon caught up and stood close to the cadaver.

"You can stop holding your breath. It's not Kono. Now we can bite her head off her for not answering her phone," said Danny before approaching Max who just arrived to take the body to the morgue for an autopsy.

"It appears she was killed by a blunt force on the head by a heavy object but I have to run some tests to see what the murder weapon might be," said Max after a brief examination before closing the body bag.

"The crime scene investigators looked around but couldn't find the murder weapon," said Chin.

"Let's talk to the chairman and then asked for an interview with all the candidates and judges," said Danny, indicating to the elegant brown haired woman in her 50's surrounded by the police. She seemed genuinely upset about the incident.

"I'll start off with those early risers over there," said Chin, eyeing the three beautiful girls huddled by the entrance, looking at the crime scene in disbelief.

It was almost noon by the time Steve came into the picture, and despite the severity of the circumstances at hand, one could see the spark in his eyes even if a solemn expression covered his handsome face. Chin and Danny have not left the scene of the crime since the crack of dawn.

"What have we got?" came in Steve, looking fresh and showered.

"Well it's about time you showed up. We could use an extra hand in interviewing everyone in the pageant and anyone who's around the area at the time of the murder. How many have you covered Chin?" said Danny as he paused in his interview with Kono's roommate Karen.

"I have interviewed nine of the candidates and the two attendants on the girls locker rooms and the two attendants on the male locker rooms. My head is beginning to spin having skipped breakfast this morning," answered Chin.

"Don't you guys ever wake up and find half the day is over? Come on," said Steve.

Danny and Chin let it go and went back to their interviews, ignoring Steve.

"Can anyone corroborate your story?" asked Danny, turning back to Karen.

"Well, my roommate Kono was out the whole night so I guess I don't have an alibi… but wait…The coordinator Angie checked in on us at 11pm. She saw me in the room," explained Karen.

"And how long did Angie stayed?"

"About 10 minutes… she was annoyed that Kono wasn't in but I covered for her and said Kono was just down the hall getting some ice cubes from the ice machine."

"So, in short Angie could only place you in the room at 11 but not after…"

Karen was suddenly hysterical. "What are you saying?! That I may have something to do with this? Alright no one can vouch for me but I can't vouch for my roommate's whereabouts either. I went to bed by midnight but she still wasn't in yet! If anyone should look guilty, she does!"

"I'm not insinuating anything. Just routine questions. Alright! That's all for now, Ms. Ridgeway, we'll get in touch if we have more questions."

Danny and Chin caught each other's eye but said nothing before continuing their interviews. Chin had just started talking to Tiffany who narrated she went to bed early after skipping dinner to prevent weight gain and was awaken early this morning by noises outside the corridor.

"Uhm… ,officer…" began the curvaceous blue-eyed blond, searching for a nameplate or anything that would reveal Chin's name but none was visible and Danny could see the dismay in her eyes as Chin continued to write his notes, oblivious to the woman's attention.

"Kelly. His name is Lieutenant Kelly," piped in Danny, helping out the girl who flashed him her killer smile in gratitude.

"Lt. Kelly, the pageant preliminaries will be over at 4pm. Perhaps we could hang out by the poolside. I was told I am very good with my hands. I will reward you with a back rub for working so hard."

She was coming on too strong with her flirtatious smile and big bright sky blue eyes that Chin was certain she had never been or seldom turned down.

"Sorry but this area will be closed for a couple of days. It's a crime scene. We will be securing the area," explained Chin.

Not to be dissuaded, her smile deepened, revealing her dimples. "Will you be one of the officers staying in the hotel for security?" she asked.

Before Chin could reply or cut her advances, an anxious-looking Kono walked into the atrium, her eyes searching.

After Karen, Danny spoke with brunette in a pixie hair cut and skinny jeans. She was absolutely devastated, her handkerchief wet with tears.

"I'm Midge. I was Daphne's roommate. She must have woken up early to take a swim. I should've accompanied her…"

"Oh! My! God! The dead girl was your roommate?!" exclaimed Tiffany as she overheard Midge's conversation with Danny.

Kono found Chin and strode towards him.

Flirtation turned to fury and surprise as Tiffany saw Kono beside her.

"You bitch! What are you…Lieutenant! She's the girl! She's the girl I saw early this morning who was prowling the corridors," screamed Tiffany.

Kono stared at her in surprise and disbelief.

"What! I didn't… I…"

"She's the one. I'm not mistaken," insisted Tiffany.

Kono was speechless in surprise.

"You bitch!" cried Tiffany, pulling Kono's hair before anyone could react.

"Hey! Let's not get physical here," said Danny pulling Tiffany away by grabbing her mid-section.

"Cut it out! No violence!" yelled Chin as he moved himself between Kono and Tiffany to protect Kono.

"I don't know what you're talking about," insisted Kono.

Tiffany freed herself from Danny's grasp and looked at Kono with contempt but didn't try to approach her again.

In a calm but heavy voice she replied, " then you aught to be arrested for lying to the police."

With that retort she walked out of the Atrium.

Steve fell beside Kono as she, Danny and Chin watched Tiffany walk away.

"Who was that, Kono?" he asked in concern.

Kono sighed but unable to look into Steve's eyes.

"That was the girl who almost got me disqualified for being late on the first day. Good thing Mr. Simmons took my side…"

"Mr. Simmons… the mustachioed judge who seemed to have taken a special interest in you?" asked Steve in disapproval.

"Cut it out Steve. He wasn't giving me any more attention than he does the other candidates."

"Oh yeah? But he kept you from being disqualified, delayed the pictorial while you wait for Malia to arrive with some clothes, told you that you have a unique beauty and sent an expensive bottle of Chablis in your room…"

"Steve, please! Stop reading something into everything!" scolded Kono before walking out.

"Fine! Your naivety will get you in trouble," uttered Steve before walking out himself.

Chin and Danny eyed each other in silent scream 'what the hell is going on?'

"Come on, Chin, let's have lunch. We must be hungrier than we thought," said Danny.

Chin sighed. "This has been one hell of a day."

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